external staff who monitor h2g2 for content that breaks the House Rules.

Registered users who have additional privileges, including locking and deleting threads, banning users and such. Charged with keeping the worst of the crap – blatant racism, personal information – off the board, the position has been officially rated The Worst Fucking Job in the Universe. It is not unlike being the guy who picks up balls at a golf course: the place wouldn’t work without you, but every asshole with a club can take a swing.

A moderator can be found in almost any interactive place, such as a message board or chat room. Moderators have the power to edit or censor things and they can also ban users who break the rules.

People who read and edit articles before they are posted to news groups. They must approve any article prior to it being posted to a news group.